CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH INVERSELY RELATED TO AMD PROGRESSION

BMC Ophthalmology 2008, 8:25

This is a disturbing article suggesting that better cardiovascular health may be associated with higher rate of AMD progression, and conversely, worse cardiovascular health may be correllated with less risk of AMD progression. I would need a lot more evidence to be convinced of this.

A NEW NON-STEROID TREATMENT FOR UVEITIS

4115 OLE-OPTH-OA-2008-2(4)-Anglade.pdf

Uveitis is an inflammatory autoimmune disease that affects various parts of the eye and is a leading cause of visual loss. Currently available therapies are burdened with toxicities and/or lack definitive evidence of efficacy. Voclosporin, a rationally designed novel calcineurin inhibitor, exhibits a favorable safety profile and a wide therapeutic window. If successful, voclosporin will become the first Food and Drug Administration-approved corticosteroid-sparing agent for this condition.

LUMIGAN OK IN UVEITIC GLAUCOMA

American Journal of OphthalmologyVolume 146, Issue 6, December 2008, Pages 876-882

This paper concludes:

"(Lumigan) is an effective IOP-lowering agent in patients with uveitic glaucoma in whom the uveitis is controlled on immunomodulatory therapy, and it does not increase the rate of flares of uveitis in these patients."

MELATONIN SHOWS PROMISE FOR TREATING UVEITIS

Review of Optometry

Melatonin therapy may be used to prevent ocular inflammation caused by uveitis, according to a study in the December issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

In this study, the authors subcutaneously implanted a pellet of melatonin in hamsters with chemically-induced uveitis. At both 24-hour and eight-day follow-up, melatonin treatment reduced clinical signs of uveitis

The authors conclude that melatonin prevents the clinical and functional symptoms of induced uveitis and suggest that it is a viable therapeutic treatment strategy for the condition.

“In the future, melatonin would most likely be administered as a drop and could be combined with a topical steroid.”

Sande PH, Fernandez DC, Aldana Marcos HJ, et al. Therapeutic effect of melatonin in experimental uveitis. Am J Pathol 2008 Dec;173(6):1702-13.

EXOTROPIA TRIPLES RISK FOR MENTAL ILLNESS

Review of Optometry

Mohney BG, McKenzie JA, Capo JA, et al. Mental illness in young adults who had strabismus as children. Pediatrics 2008 Nov;122(5):1033-8

Researchers found that children with exotropia were three times more likely to develop a psychiatric disorder, according to a study in the November issue of Pediatrics.

Also, patients with intermittent exotropia were significantly more likely to have mental health disorders, mental health-related emergency department visits, mental health-related hospitalizations and thoughts of suicide or homicide.

AVASTIN MAY BENEFIT IN BRVO

Early Intravitreal Bevacizumab for Non-Ischaemic Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion:

"intravitreal injection of Avastin may decrease macular edema and improve visual acuity in eyes with non-ischemic BRVO."

GREEN COLLARDS, KALE, CARROTS, & PEACHES GOOD FOR GLAUCOMA, ORANGE JUICE AND SPINACH MAY NOT BE GOOD FOR GLAUCOMA

EyeWorld Magazine: 2008

This interesting new study found that glaucoma risk decreased in women who ate green collards and kale at least once a month, who ate more than two servings a week of carrots, and who consumed at least one weekly serving of canned or dried peaches.

Investigators also found that the odds of having glaucoma increased in patients who drank at least one serving of orange juice a day and ate more than one weekly serving of spinach. This is disturbing, since spinach is considered one of the best vegetables for macular degeneration and orange juice is a wonderful source of vitamin C, which significantly boosts the immune system.

Women who consumed at least 2 mg of vitamin B2 from natural food sources or at least 1,400 daily retinol equivalents of vitamin A were less likely to be diagnosed with glaucoma than participants who consumed lower amounts of these nutrients.

NEW TOPICAL STEROID, DUREZOL

Durezol (difluprednate ophthalmic emulsion) 0.05% is a topical ophthalmic steroid that has the potential to treat patients suffering from ocular inflammatory diseases, including post-operative inflammation. Durezol is a difluorinated derivative of prednisolone and has potent anti- inflammatory activity. The efficacy and safety of Durezol in ocular inflammatory diseases has been demonstrated in an extensive preclinical and clinical program in Japan.

One interesting result from the phase III studies is that BID dosing was just as effective as QID dosing. 3% have significant IOP rise.

CRVO FROM HEAD STAND POSITION

Shah NJ, Shah UN. Central retinal vein occlusion following Sirsasana (headstand posture). Indian J Ophthalmol [serial online] 2009 [cited 2008 Dec 15];57:69-70

"We report a case of central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) following Sirsasana, a head-down postural yoga. A 55-year-old male patient presented to us, with sudden-onset loss of vision following Sirsasana, in the right eye. The patient had suffered from pulmonary thromboembolism 5 years earlier and was receiving warfarin prophylaxis. Over 6 months of follow-up, the patient developed neovascularization of the iris and was subjected to panretinal laser with no improvement in visual acuity. Sirsasana could be an important risk factor for CRVO especially in predisposed patients."

AVASTIN INJECTIONS MAY INCREASE BLOOD PRESSURE

Eye advance online publication 12 December 2008; doi: 10.1038/eye.2008.360

In those patients with established and treated hypertension, the systolic blood pressure levels showed significant increases at weeks 1, 3, and 6 after Avastin injection. Similarly, diastolic blood pressure levels were significantly higher at weeks 3 and 6. In patients without hypertension, the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels showed significant elevations only at week 3.

"The findings of this study show that there is a risk of disregulation of blood pressure levels or persistence of hypertension in hypertensive patients after intravitreal bevacizumab injections."

LASIK LONG-TERM OUTCOMES MAY BE BETTER THAN PRK

Ten years after Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK) and Laser In Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) for Moderate to High Myopia (Control-Matched Study) -- Alio et al., 10.1136/bjo.2007.131748 -- British Journal of Ophthalmology:

"LASIK demonstrated slightly better efficacy, predictability, and less rate of retreatment after 10 years."

ALPHAGAN MAY BE NEUROPROTECTANT

Journal of Clinical Ophthalmology - Dove Medical Press:

"Beyond brimonidine’s pressure lowering capacity, laboratory and early clinical evidence supports its neuroprotective potential. We await validation of this in human clinical trials."

ACQUIRED PORT-WINE STAIN ASSOCIATED W/ CLUSTER HEADACHE

Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery - Abstract: Volume 24(6) November/December 2008 p 490-492 Acquired Port Wine Stain of the Upper Eyelid After Cluster Headache.:

"A 69-year-old white man with a medical history of left-sided cluster headaches presented for evaluation of dermatochalasis. The left upper eyelid demonstrated red-pink, blanchable macules that coalesced in a patch. The lesion appeared after an episode of a cluster headache. Histopathologic evaluation demonstrated aggregates of telangiectatic blood vessels in the papillary dermis consistent with the diagnosis of an acquired port wine stain. The authors report, to their knowledge, the first description of an acquired port wine stain associated with cluster headaches."